Despite this weekend's festivities and the diploma that we will soon hold, it is important to remember that Dartmouth is not really over. Although the classes, campus life and late nights in the library are at an end, that's not Dartmouth. So what is Dartmouth?
Dartmouth is a truly unique identity. Between spending three days in the woods in the fall of 2006 and finding our way to the graduation stage this weekend, some part of the College becomes a part of us. We have our own customs, social norms and language. Where else do 1,000 freshmen college students sprint around a giant bonfire as upperclassmen watch, both jeering and cheering them on?
There is oftentimes an unspoken exchange between two graduates of the College like we're in on the same secret. Even though each of us had a different "Dartmouth experience," something about the culture here transcends the distinct social groups we inhabit on campus. When we meet a fellow Dartmouth graduate in the future, we will be bound by our common identity as Dartmouth graduates. This identity is something that I cannot comprehensively describe in words. Instead, it's something we know something we all need to remember.
Alumni certainly do remember their Dartmouth identity, as Dartmouth consistently has one of the highest alumni giving rates among its peer institutions. I also believe that Dartmouth develops our abilities as team players, and employer surveys confirm this strong ability in Dartmouth graduates. In a modern world often fueled by competition and individual achievement, we transcend the temptation to self-aggrandizement and condemn showboating with the term "self-call." We learn to work together.
Dartmouth is never being alone, wherever you go. In part due to an experience unlike any other that this College affords us those bound by the common Dartmouth identity are always eager to work together. There will always be a fellow graduate of this institution willing to lend us some advice or listen to an idea, regardless of the field we enter after graduation.
Bound by our unique and shared Dartmouth identity, this strong network gives each of us a lot of power a lifeline in times of trouble, a starting point for entrepreneurship or a community willing to dedicate time to social enterprise ventures.
With this vast and powerful network, our opportunities are limited only by our imaginations. If you have an idea that can be well-developed and well-planned, the Dartmouth network guarantees that there will be a way to pursue it. So, as we are about to leave the town of Hanover, I find it important to remember that the expanse of opportunities will continue to grow. With our Dartmouth identity, the best years of our lives are just beginning.
Most importantly, Dartmouth is a calling. In a world that places enormous importance on specialization and practical skills, Dartmouth has stood by her education in the liberal arts. A government professor recently opined that the ancient philosophers like Aristotle would never receive tenure in modern academia, which encourages specialization within a subfield of academic departments. Each department's faculty committee would examine Aristotle's resume, and scoff at the "lack of focus" in this thinker's study of everything from physics and zoology to astronomy, poetry and government.
Since these fields have advanced since the times of Aristotle, there is nothing wrong with devoting time to more advanced study of a specialization. In doing so, however, we must ensure that we do not place ourselves in little boxes that blind ourselves to the value of a broader outlook.
In the true spirit of the liberal arts curriculum, our specialties should enhance our opportunities rather than limit them, enabling us to tackle the greatest problem-solving challenges of our time by collaborating with others with completely different specialties.
As we can learn from the modern political landscape, one-sided solutions do not work for anyone. Health care overhaul requires collaboration from doctors, lawyers, businessmen, systems thinkers, academics and researchers who have an array of specialties. Similar problems of energy development, financial regulatory regimes and a host of the other important issues of our day require this type of collaborative effort that pieces together perspectives from diverse fields.
With the power of the Dartmouth network and Dartmouth's liberal arts education, we can avoid being boxed off within whatever our specialty becomes. We can dare, as President Wright said during Commencement in 2009, to "embrace the surprises and pursue the unplanned." With this openness to unexpected opportunities, we can, as President Kim has said, "settle for nothing less than to transform the world."
JR Santo '10 is the former Publisher.
